Tie for fastening a line wire to an insulator



Nov. 10, 1959 R. D. KNIGHT ETAL 7 2,

' TIE FOR FASTENING A LINE! WIRE TO AN INSULATOR Filed June 21. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7N VE N 7' 0R8. ROBERT D. KNIGHT and THOMAS MEL V/LLE,

their A flame Nov. 10, 1959 R, D, KNIGHT ETAL 2,911,695

TIE: FOR FASTENING A LINE WIRE TO AN INSULATOR Filed June 21, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l4 pom United States Patent TIE FOR FASTENING 'A LINE WIRE TO'AN INSULATOR Robert D. Knight, Shaker Heights, and Thomas Melville, Maple Heights, Ohio, assignors to United States Steel This invention relates to a tie for fastening a line wire to an insulator and more particularly to such a tie including means for reducing the vibration of the suspended line wire or strand. Ties in common use require the use of tools for connecting the line wire to the insulator. For this reason considerable time is required in making the connection and there is no assurance that the connections will be uniform in strength and/or appearance. The cost of installation is high because of the forming necessary in the field.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide an inexpensive preformed tie.

This and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one element of our tie;

Figure 2 is an elevation showing the tie in the process of being installed on an insulator;

Figure 3 is a view, similar to Figure 2, showing the installed tie;

Figure 4 is a view, similar to Figure 3, showing a slight modification of our device;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a view, similar to Figure 4, showing a slightly different method of installing the tie; and

Figure 7 is a top plan view of Figure 6.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings reference numeral 2 indicates a helical wire having a central generally circular portion 4 and generally aligned end portions 6 on each side of the central portion. It is preferred that the helices be of the same diameter and pitch throughout the complete length of the wire, but this is not absolutely necessary and in some instances it may be necessary to vary the diameter of the helices in the portion 4 because of the dimensions of groove 8 in the insulator 10. The helices may be entirely omitted in the central portion 4, but better clamping action is obtained when the portion 4 has helices. The central portion 4 normally extends through an arc of less than 360 as shown in Figure 1 and an arc of 330 is generally satisfactory. The inside diameter of the helices is less than the outside diameter of line wire 12 for a purpose which will appear later. The tie also includes a cam lock fastener 14 which is essentially a spiraled piece of wire having two aligned points P and P spaced apart a maximum distance and a second pair of aligned points L and L spaced apart a minimum distance. The shape of the curves from point P to point L and from point P. to point L may vary, but a hyperbolic or logarithmic spiral is preferred.

The tie is assembled as follows:

The central portion 4 of the helical wire 2 is passed around the insulator 10 in the groove 8 with the end portions 6 being spiraled around the line wire 12 as shown. The cam lock fastener 14 is then placed in position as shown in Figure 2, points P and P receiving the helical wire 2 at junctions 16 between the portions 4 and 6. The fastener 14 is then rotated in a clockwise direc- 2,911,695 Patented Nov. 10, 1959 ICC tion through an angle of substantially to the position shown in Figure 3 where the points L and L will engage the helical wire 2 at junctions 16. Since the distance between points L and L is substantially less than the distance between points P and P junctions 16 are drawn toward each other, thus clamping the circular portion 4 around the insulator. Since the inside diameter of the helices is less than the outside diameter of the line wire 12 the line wire 12 will be securely gripped. The portions 6 also act to dampen any vibrations in wire 12. The ends of the wire making up cam fastener 14 may be turned at substantially right angles to the rest of the fastener as shown at 18 in order to facilitate handling and manipulation of the fastener. The parts 2 and 14 are preferably made of steel but may be made of other suitable materials.

In the embodiments of our invention shown in Figures 4 to 7 the construction of the parts is the same as in Figures 1 to 3 and the parts are given the same reference numerals as in Figures 1 to 3 except for cam lock fastener 14. The construction of fastener 14' is the same as that of fastener 14 except that the ends 18 are in the form of an eye instead of being bent at right angles. However, fastener 14 may be used instead of fastener 14. In Figures 4 and 5 the fastener 14 is located entirely between the line wire 12 and insulator 10 and in Figures 6 and 7 the fastener 14 is located entirely outside of the line wire. In Figure 5 a space 20 is provided between the line wire 12 and cam lock fastener 14. In Figure 7 a similar space 22 is provided between the line wire 12 and cam lock fastener 14'. The reason for the spaces 20 and 22 is to prevent rubbing of the wire 2 and fastener 14 against the line wire 12 when the wind causes vibration of the line wire.

While several embodiments of our invention have been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A tie for fastening a line Wire to an insulator or the like comprising a preformed helical wire having a central generally circular portion adapted to pass around the insulator and generally aligned end portions on each side of the central portion for receiving the line wire, the central portion normally extending through an arc of less than 360, the inside diameter of the helices being less than the diameter of the line wire so as to grasp the line wire firmly, and a preformed fastener adapted to connect the two end portions at their junctions with the central portion and to tighten the circular portion around the insulator.

2. A tie for fastening a line wire to an insulator or the like comprising a helical wire having a central generally circular portion adapted to pass around the insulator and generally aligned end portions on each side of the central portion for receiving the line wire, the central portion normally extending through an arc of less than 360, the inside diameter of the helices being less than the diameter of the line wire so as to grasp the line wire firmly, and a preformed cam lock fastener adapted to connect the two portions at their junctions with the central portion and to tighten the circular portion around the insulator, said cam lock fastener being formed of a spiraled wire having two points spaced apart a maximum distance for receiving the helical wires at said junctions in a first position and two points spaced apart a minimum distance for receiving the helical wires at said junctions when the cam lock fastener is rotated through an angle of substantially 180.

3. A tie for fastening a line wire to an insulator or the like comprising a helical wire having a central generally circular portion adapted to pass around the insul l r and generally a ]ign e d end portions on each side of the central portion for receiving the line wire, the central portion normally extending through an arc of ap proximately 330, the inside diameter of the helices being ss han th di e th t t it? 0 tot i the line .wire firmly, and a preformed cam lock fastener adapted to connect the two end portions at their junctions with the central portion and to tighten the circular portion around the insnlator, said cam lock fastener being formed of a spiraled wire having two points spaced apart a maximum distance for receiving the helical wires at said junctions in a first position and two points spaced apart a minimum distance for receiving the helical wires at said junctions in a second position, said cam lock fastener being movable through an angle of substantially 180 from said first position to said second position whereby the said junctions are drawn toward each other to clamp the circular portion around the insulator.

4. Afasteni ng device comprisinga band passing around an object, said band having spaced bends therein, and a preformed cam lock fastener adapted to connect the two bends and to tighten the band around the object, said cam lock fastener being formed of a spiraled wire having two points spaced apart a maximum distance for receiving the bends of the band in a first position and two points spaced apart a minimum distance for receiva 4 ing the bends of the band when the cam lock fastener is rotated through an angle of substantially 180, said fastener having openings into said spirals at opposite ends of said wire one for receving each of said bends.

5. A fastening device comprising a band passing around an object, said band having spaced bends therein, and a preformed cam lock fastener adapted to connect the two References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bugg May 19, 1942 

